Meet Ari, she is a one year old Pomeranian — weighing in at 7 pounds, she's small in size but big in energy and spirit. My partner and I adopted Ari last year a few months after the passing of our elderly dog, Pom. We weren't looking to adopt so quickly, but Ari was being re-homed by her previous owner because she would need special care, as she was born with a heart defect. Because my partner and I both work at veterinary clinics, we knew we had better access to resources to provide her care. The next step for her, however, is heart surgery.

Ari's heart defect is called Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), which occurs when one of the ducts of the heart does not close at birth. When left untreated, dogs with this condition will typically go into heart failure and live 2 to 3 years at most. In terms of treatment, the only options are different kinds of surgical intervention, which is what we have been looking into.

In January of this year, we took Ari to a cardiologist, who performed an echocardiogram and determined she was a candidate for surgery, and that she needed it promptly. We then took Ari to a veterinary surgeon who evaluated her and said he could do the surgery, giving us an estimate of 6,500 - 7,500 for the procedure.

This is unfortunately too large a sum for our means. My partner recently graduated college, and I am currently on my last semester on track to graduate this May. So, even though we both work, we're not sure of how we will finance her care. We do have CareCredit, but our credit limit is not high enough to cover Ari's procedure, either.

We've never tried to fundraise before, but if the procedure is successful, Ari will be able to lead a normal life and have a normal lifespan. Of course, I'm nervous about her getting heart surgery, but we need to do all we can to get Ari the care she needs to give her the live she deserves.

We would be so incredibly grateful for any help towards Ari's surgery, thank you ♡